


Rescued Cats and A Cute Vet

by angelsfalling16



Series: Winter Prompts [2]
Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Love at First Sight, M/M, SnowBaz, Tumblr Prompt, Veterinarian Baz Pitch, adopting a cat, demisexual Simon Snow, rescued cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23667196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelsfalling16/pseuds/angelsfalling16
Summary: Simon finds a cat shivering in the snow and takes it to the nearest vet clinic, which is run by the cutest vet he's ever seen.
Relationships: Penelope Bunce & Simon Snow, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Series: Winter Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1710103
Comments: 34
Kudos: 234





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this to Tumblr yesterday and am finally getting it posted here.

**Simon**

I’m pacing back and forth across the small waiting area of the emergency vet clinic, unable to sit down as I wait for the vet to come back out and tell me how if the cat that I brought in is going to be alright.

I was on my way home from her when I found her shivering in the snow, ice matted to her fur. I pulled my scarf from around my neck and wrapped her in it before rushing her to the nearest emergency vet. She had become unresponsive by the time that I got in with her, and I’m worried that I may have been too late to save her.

My phones buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out to find a text from Penny. I was supposed to be home over half an hour ago, so she’s probably worried.

_Where are you?_

**_At the vet._ **

_No more strays, Simon._

**_She was frozen in the snow. I can’t just abandon her._ **

_You can’t bring home every stray cat you decide to rescue either. Two is already too many._

**_What do I do with her then?_ **

_Take her to shelter._

**_And hope she gets adopted? No way. Not everyone gets that lucky._ **

I can imagine her sighing at her phone screen, but I know that she won’t give in.

_We aren’t even supposed to have the cats we have. Do you want to get evicted?_

**_No, but I’m not abandoning her._ **

_Then, you have to find her a different home. We can’t keep her._

**_Fine. I won’t bring her home, but I won’t take her to a shelter._ **

_Thank you. See you when you get home._

I shove my phone into my pocket and shove a hand through my hair.

Even though I hate to admit it, Penny was right. I can’t take home anymore cats. I don’t want to just abandon this one, though. I have to know that she is safe and warm with someone who cares about her.

I continue my pacing across the little waiting area, hoping that something will come to me, that I’ll come up with a brilliant way to help this cat.

After a long time has passed, I hear footsteps behind me and turn to find the vet coming back to the counter.

“You’re still here,” he says, raising his brows.

“I wanted to make sure she was alright.”

“We managed to get her warmed back up, and she’s resting now. She should be fine.”

“Okay. Good. That’s good.”

He starts working on something, but I can’t leave yet. Just because this cat is alive, doesn’t mean she’s safe.

The vet looks back up at me from whatever papers he’s filling out and frowns slightly. “Did you need something else?”

“Oh. Um. I was wondering what you planned to do with her.”

“We’ll keep an eye on her overnight to make sure that there are no lasting injuries, and then we’ll take her over to the shelter.”

“No!” I don’t mean to shout, but it slips out of me. I can’t let that happen.

The vet raises a brow at me but doesn’t comment.

“Sorry. I just, I don’t want here to go to a shelter.”

“You could take here home if you would like.”

I shake my head. “I can’t. My roommate would kill me.”

“I see.”

My hands are shaking, and I suddenly feel exhausted. I stumble over to a chair and collapse into it. It’s the first time that I’ve sat down in hours.

“Hey, are you okay?” The vet asks, rushing around the counter and to my side.

Embarrassed, I let my head fall into my hands.

“M’fine,” I mumble.

“Are you sure?”

He’s crouching in front of me now, his face level with mine when I look up at him.

His face is inches from mine, and this close, I can see the colors of his eyes. They aren’t quite the grey color I originally thought they were. They’re more of a silver color and as dazzling as the moon on a cloudless night.

Fuck, he’s beautiful.

I was too busy worrying about the cat before to notice, but now that he’s right in front of me, I can’t help but notice.

Unable to handle the intensity of his gaze for a moment longer, I tear my eyes away and look down, and I catch a glimpse of the name printed on his badge.

_Baz._

“I’m fine,” I tell him. “Just tired. S’been a long day.”

“Okay.”

He stands back up but doesn’t move away from me.

“I’ll take her home with me,” I say after a moment.

“I thought you said your roommate would kill you if you did.”

“I don’t have any other choice.”

“You do, actually.”

“I won’t let you send her to a shelter.”

“What if I took her home with me?”

“What?” I look up at him, surprised.

“I’ve been considering adopting a pet, so this would help both of us.”

“How do I know that you’re not just saying that to get me out of your waiting room?”

“I’ll let you come visit her.”

“Are you really inviting a stranger to your home?” I ask.

“A cute stranger.”

“You don’t even know my name,” I reply, trying to ignore the way that my cheeks warm at the compliment.

“That can be easily remedied. Leave me your name and number, and I will call you tomorrow when I get her settled at my house.”

“Wait. Was this all a ploy to get my phone number? Is that the only reason you decided to take the cat home?”

He frowns at me, and he’s obviously wondering if I’m crazy. But can he really blame me?

“Of course not,” he says. “You don’t just make that kind of decision on a whim.”

“Right,” I say, not mentioning the fact that I have done that exact thing more than once. “You’ll take good care of her?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, good.”

I stand and follow him over to the counter, and he hands me a notepad and pen for me to write my name on.

“I think we should name the cat Snowball,” I say when I hand it back to him.

“We? Isn’t she my cat?”

“I thought she could be our cat.”

He raises a brow at me. “Did you just ask a stranger to co-parent a cat with you?”

I shrug bashfully. “A cute stranger.”

The corner of his mouth quirks up, and he says, “Fine. We’ll name her snowball.”

“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Goodnight.”

When I leave the vet clinic, there’s a skip in my step, and I can’t stop smiling.

It’s weird to feel this way about someone I met less than two hours ago, but who knows? Maybe this could be the start of something wonderful.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @pipsqueakparker on Tumblr asked for more, so I wrote a second part for this fic!

_The next day…_

**Simon**

I’m surprised when early the next afternoon, Baz actually calls me.

I wasn’t going to answer it because I didn’t recognize the number, but then I thought that _maybe_ it could be him and decided to pick it up.

“Hello?” I say carefully, ready to hang up at the first sign that it was a telemarketer.

“Hi. I just got home and wanted to let you know that the cat is doing well.”

“Baz?”

“Yes. Who else have you been giving cats to?”

“No one. I just wasn’t sure if you would actually call.”

“I said I would.”

“I know, but a part of me thought I imagined the whole thing?”

“Do you usually imagine up hot strangers to take in cats for you?” He asks, a laugh in his voice.

“I said cute, not hot,” I say, defensively.

“Same thing.”

“Whatever. Can I come over to see the cat?”

“Now?”

I shrug, even though he can’t see me. “Yeah, why not?”

“I was just about to go to bed. I got off work not too long.”

“Oh,” I say, not sure if I’m more disappointed about not getting to see the cat or him. “Okay. I’ll let you go then.”

He’s quiet for a moment before sighing and saying, “No, it’s fine. You can come over now if you want.”

“It’s not really that important. It can wait.”

“Just come over.”

“Are you saying that you want to see me?” I ask in a teasing tone, even as my heart does a small flip. “Is that why you did all of this? So that you could see me again?”

“Shut up and come over before I change my mind.”

I laugh but quickly say, “Okay. Text me your address.”

“I live above the clinic. If you walk around to the back, you can take the stairs up, and I’ll let you in.”

“Cool. I’ll be there in 20,” I say and hang up, eager to go see him.

“Where are you going?” Penny asks from behind me, and I jump. I didn’t hear her come in. I wonder how much she heard of that.

“To see a friend.”

“You don’t have any friends.”

“I have plenty of friends.”

She rolls her eyes. “Not any that you go and do stuff with.”

“Fine. It’s the vet from last night. I’m going over to see his cat.”

“Is that code for something that I don’t want to know?”

“What? No!” I don’t think it’s possible for me to blush any more than I am right now. “He took in the cat I found last night, and he said that I could come visit her if I wanted to.”

“Oh, sure. A guy you just met invites you back to his place, and it’s only so you can see a _cat_.”

“Exactly,” I say, pulling on shoes and my coat as fast as I can so that I can get away before she starts insinuating that Baz asked me over for a completely different reason. “I’ll see you later.”

“Use protection!” She calls after me, and I slam the door, grateful for the cold wind as it cools my flaming cheeks.

***

When I get to the clinic, I’m questioning why I’m doing this. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and this is all new territory.

Baz keeps flirting with me, and I don’t know if it’s just a bit of fun for him or if it’s possible that he might feel something for me, the way that I feel something for him, even though we just met last night.

I’m so busy thinking about this that I slip on a patch of ice on one of the steps and nearly loose my footing just as the door above me opens. I look a right fool when Baz steps out to look at me.

“I thought I heard someone out here,” Baz says. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I just slipped.”

“Alright. Well, hurry and get in here. It’s freezing.”

I pay careful attention to the last few steps then follow him inside, stopping just inside, which leaves him directly behind me as he closes the door behind us.

I turn to face him, and once again, he’s mere inches away from me. My breath catches in my throat, and I take a small step back.

“Hi,” I say stupidly, unsure what else to do.

Thankfully, he smiles and says, “Hey. Snowball is curled up on my bed.”

“Okay.”

My heart rate picks up pace as I follow him through his little apartment. Was Penny right? Did Baz invite me over to get me in his bed? Could I really have been so wrong about his intentions?

He steps into his room, but I hesitate in the doorway, not really sure what I want to do.

I’m not ready for anything like that. It takes me time before I get anywhere near ready. I have to get to know a person pretty well before I can even think about doing something like that.

Baz turns back to look at me, and it allows to get a look at the bed behind him.

I am relieved to see that he wasn’t lying. The little grey and white cat I found last night is curled up in the middle of his bed, sleeping soundly as if she has lived here her entire life.

I can’t help but smile at the sight, and I move into the room and over to the bed, carefully sitting on the edge so that I can pet her.

A moment later, Baz sits on the other side of her, watching the two of us.

“Thank you for this,” I say, continuing to look at the cat instead of him. “I know you didn’t have to take her in, and I really appreciate you doing it.”

“It’s not a problem. I really did want a cat of my own, and you were right, I couldn’t send her to a shelter.”

I look up at him now, and I find that at some point he moved closer – we both did – and the only space between the two of us is the space where the cat is, and it isn’t much.

I feel a flutter in my stomach as our eyes meet, and I don’t think that I’ve ever felt anything like it.

Baz’s expression changes, his eyes widening slightly, and it takes me a moment to realize that I said that last bit aloud.

“Neither have I,” he replies quietly.

I’m surprised by his response but happy about it, too. I’m even happier when I feel his hand slide over mine, his fingers slotting between mine over our cat.

“Okay,” I say. “So, this new for both of us.” I relax a little with that knowledge, then I lean closer to him until our noses brush.

Baz inhales softly before his eyes flutter shut, and I wait another beat to make sure he isn’t going to pull away before closing the rest of the distance and kissing him.

He returns the kiss just as soft, and I don’t think I’ve ever kissed anyone like this. Like it really mattered.

Everything about this is new and wonderful, and I can’t believe that it was a cat that brought us together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More about Simon and Baz and their cat, Snowball!

**Simon**

“You spent the night again?” Penny asks before I’ve even stepped all the way into our apartment.

She must have been waiting for me. I told her where I would be and that I wouldn’t be home last night, but I guess it was too much to hope for her to leave it at that.

“It was late, and I didn’t want to drive home, so I crashed at his place,” I explain, trying to pass her and get to my room, but I have no such luck.

“I know you think that I’m being intrusive, but seriously, Simon, are you using protection?”

I can feel my face heat up all the way to the tips of my ears. “It’s not like that. He isn’t even there at night. He’s working.”

“He’s just downstairs from you. He could come up on a break to see you.” I shoot her a glare, and she says, “fine. What do you mean it’s not like that?”

I shrug. “We’re just hanging out. I go by the clinic when I get off work and hang out and talk to him if he isn’t busy.”

“And you just hang out in his apartment while he’s working?” She asks, making it sound weirder than it actually is.

“I go up to play with Snowball. I lost track of time last night, and Baz let me crash at his place. He wasn’t up there with me until he got off work this morning.”

“So, are you two a couple, or are you hanging out as friends?”

“I, uh, I’m not sure. We haven’t talked about it in so many words.”

We’ve kissed a few times, and it’s nice, but I don’t know if that makes us a couple.

It has been a couple of weeks since I found Snowball, and Baz and I have spent a lot of time talking to each other. Well, as much time as we can when he works nights while I work days. This usually means that I stay up far too late texting him and am exhausted the next day.

“You should talk to him about it,” Penny says.

“I will. I’m going back over there later. He has the night off, so we’re going to hang out.” Penny’s face lights up, and I cut her off before she can say anything. “I won’t need protection.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything about that.”

“Yes, you were.”

She rolls her eyes. “Fine. I was. But only because I care.”

“And I appreciate that, but you don’t need to worry. If we do ever get to that point, I promise that we will be safe.”

“Good. That’s all I wanted.”

And with that, I make my escape as quickly as possible before she can continue this awkward conversation about my uncertain relationship with Baz.

***

When I arrive at Baz’s apartment that evening, I start smiling as soon as he opens the door.

It’s a weird reaction, but it’s difficult to hide how I feel when I’m around him. Fortunately, he returns the smile and gestures for me to come in.

We stop for a moment just inside the door, and I let my eyes drift down his body, taking in his appearance.

He’s wearing loose sweatpants and a grey t-shirt that brings out the color in his eyes, which are framed nicely by the way that his hair falls down around them.

He never wears his hair down. He usually keeps it either slicked back or tied back out of his face. This is a change and a very attractive one

Snowball comes bounding over and weaves between our legs, mewing at us, wanting attention.

Tearing my eyes away from Baz, I lean down to pick her up. She purrs as I scratch behind her ears, but a moment later, she jumps out of my arms and runs off towards Baz’s room. She’s taken up residence in one of the drawers of his dresser, and she spends the majority of her time there.

“Are you hungry?” Baz asks, wearing a fond expression. “I was just about to make something to eat.”

“Yeah, I could eat,” I say, smiling wider when he reaches for my hand.

***

After we eat, we end up lounging on Baz’s bed, watching tv. After a while, our hands find each other, intertwining between us, and sometime later, I end up tucked against his side.

This is what a couple does, right?

Or maybe we’re just really close friends. We did just meet, and we don’t know a lot about each other. For all I know, he’s got a line of other guys who come in after I leave.

I take a deep breath and try to clear that thought from my mind. Penny’s right. I need to talk to Baz about this.

But not right now.

It’s starting to get late, and I’m fighting to keep my eyes open, too comfortable in Baz’s arms to stay awake.

“M’tired,” I murmer. “I should probably get going.”

“Why don’t you rest a minute?”

I start to protest, but I’m interrupted by a yawn. Maybe he’s right. I should get a bit of rest before I go.

“Okay. I’ll leave in a couple minutes,” I say even as my eyes fall shut.

Baz pulls on me a bit, and I roll into him, burying my face in his neck and inhaling his scent. My hand falls on his chest, just over his heart, and I fall asleep to the beat of it.

***

When I wake, it’s morning, and I’m still pressed up against Baz, our legs tangled together now. We must have drifted even closer to each other in our sleep.

I hadn’t planned on falling asleep on his bed. I wasn’t even going to stay the night, but I guess the lack of sleep recently finally caught up to me.

I shift slightly in his arms, wondering how long I’ve been asleep, and he starts to stir, too, lifting his head to look at me.

“Sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s fine.”

“What time is it?” I ask, regretting it when Baz pulls away from me to search for his phone.

“Half past ten,” he says.

“Crap. I’m going to be late for work.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It’s okay. I’m the one who passed out in your bed.”

“A stranger’s bed,” he murmurs against my hear.

“A _hot_ stranger’s bed,” I reply, grinning at him. “But you’re not a stranger anymore, you know.”

“I do. I also know that you need to get going.”

Despite his words, he pulls me close to him again, brushing his lips over mine, and it’s a struggle to pull myself from his arms.

Reluctantly I slide off the bed, out of arm’s reach from Baz’s inviting embrace.

“Want to come back over tonight?” He asks, stretching, and my eyes immediately fall upon the strip of skin that is revealed when his shirt rides up.

“Won’t you be working?” I ask once I’ve managed to force my eyes back up to his face.

“Yes, but you could still stop by to see me,” he says, and when he looks at me like that, how can I say no?

“Alright. I’ll drop by when I get off work but just to say hi. I need to spend a night in my own bed before my roommate thinks I’ve moved out.”

I locate my shoes by his bedroom door and tug them on. I’m still wearing my clothes from yesterday, so I’m going to have to stop by my house to shower and change, which is going to make me even later for work.

“Wait, one more thing,” Baz says, just before I step out into the hall.

“Yeah?” I ask, turning back to him.

“When is your next day off?”

“Saturday.”

“Great. I’m transitioning back to the day shift at the end of this week, and I should be off that day as well, so I would like to take you out on a proper date.”

“A date?”

“Yeah. Unless you don’t want to?”

“No, I do. I just wasn’t sure if were doing that. Dating, I mean.”

“Oh. I thought it was obvious.”

“How? You never said anything about it.”

“Well, I don’t make it a habit to kiss people I’m not dating. And I’ve never invited anyone up to my apartment before.”

“Really?”

“Are you surprised by that?”

“I mean, you’d known me for all of 20 minutes before you said I could come over.”

“You are the exception,” he says quietly, and I take a step back into the room. “From the moment you stepped into the clinic, I knew that there was something different about you. Something that I wanted to get closer to and learn more about.”

“Oh,” I say softly, and it’s more a rush of air than an actual word.

I have no idea how to respond to that. Even on my best days, I can’t find the words to describe how I feel about him, and right now, I’m late and in a rush, and every word that I have learned to speak has suddenly left me, leaving my mouth dry and empty.

I want to tell him that I feel the same way, that when I saw him, I knew that I would never be able to take my eyes off of him, but when I open my mouth, nothing comes out.

Baz sits up quickly, a new expression on his face, something like panic.

“That was too much, wasn’t it?” He says. “I should have just kept my mouth shut and not said anything.”

“N-no,” I say quickly. “It wasn’t too much. I just—.” I laugh nervously. “I really like you, too. I had a similar feeling when I saw you.”

Baz has crossed the room now, and he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me into a deep kiss that has me seeing stars.

“See you tonight,” Baz whispers when he releases me.

“See you.” I reply, and I stumble out of his apartment in a daze.

This whole thing has turned out even better than I could have imagined.

Now, I have a cat and a boyfriend.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part four is finally here!! I know I originally wrote this fic back in April, but I always intended to come back and write another part to sort of wrap it up. And even though Simon and Baz and Snowball’s story will never really end, this will probably be the last part I write. I hope you all like it!!

**Simon**

This evening has been surprisingly nice. Usually, I hate first dates. They’re awkward, and the conversation always feels forced. They end up feeling so unnatural that even if I like the person, I’m not sure if it’s worth the trouble of a second date.

But this first date with Baz was different.

It didn’t even feel like a first date. At least not in the bad ways. It was nice, and the conversation flowed easily. It felt similar to those evenings we’ve been spending at his apartment Only, this time, there was no cat, and there was a nice dinner involved.

Now, we’re walking hand in hand down the street, wanting to drag out this pleasant evening for as long as possible. It’s cold out, but it’s nice just walking with him. There are no expectations, no pressure. We’re just spending time together.

“This has been really nice,” Baz says, voicing my thoughts.

“It has,” I agree.

“Do you th—.”

“Wait, do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“ _That_.” The sound is coming from my left. From the alley. “There,” I say, and without waiting for a response, I dash into the alley following the sound.

The mewing has grown softer, but I follow it to the source. A small cat is lying on the ground, thin and mangy looking.

I rush to their side, gently scooping them up.

“They’re starving,” Baz says, kneeling next to me. “And injured.”

He gestures at the cat’s front leg, where its white fur is matted with blooded.

“You have to help them,” I say, my voice shaking as I hold the cat closer to my body, careful not to hurt them.

“The injury doesn’t look too bad, but they look really malnourished. If we take them to the shelter, I’ll clean them up, feed them, and they should be fine.”

“Okay,” I say, letting out a breath of relief. “Let’s go.”

***

At the vet clinic, Baz allows me to go to the back room with him and watch him care for the cat. He isn’t supposed to be working today, but I guess since he owns the place, he can come in and work whenever he wants. Especially when it’s an emergency like this.

I stand off to the side and watch him as he cares for the cat. Cleaning them, caring for their wounds, feeding them. All the while, he is whispering to the cat, handling them gently as he bandages their leg, and doing his best to keep them calm.

When he’s done, Baz cleans up the area around him and gently pets the cat before looking up at me.

“She’s going to be fine,” he says, smiling warmly down at the cat with this gentle look in his eyes that’s full of adoration. It makes my heart melt to see him look at her like that.

“What are we going to do with her?” I ask.

“Well, from the looks of it, she’s been living on the streets for a while, so we’ll have to find her a good home.”

“We should take her in.”

Baz quirks a brow at me, but his expression borders on amusement.

“So, you weren’t kidding, were you? You really do like to try to take in every stray cat you come across.”

“Come on. Don’t you think Snowball is lonely? I think she would love a friend.”

“Hold on. One date and you’re ready to co-parent a _second_ cat together?”

“I, uh…” What am I supposed to say to that?

I know it sounds crazy, but it doesn’t _feel_ crazy.

It turns out that I don’t have to say anything, though, because he steps forward and kisses me soundly before pulling back and saying, “Okay. We can keep her.”

***

When we take our new cat up to Baz’s apartment, she sniffs around the place, slowly making her way to Baz’s room, where Snowball is asleep on the bed.

She jumps up on the bed, and Snowball lifts her head. For a moment, I’m worried that they will fight each other, but then Snowball sniffs the new cat and begins giving her a bath, cleaning her and caring for her.

After a while, they fall asleep curled up together, and Baz and I join them, lying together as we watch them.

All of us together, it feels like a family of sorts. A bigger and nicer family than I’ve ever had.

I know that from some aspects, it seems like I’m rushing into this thing with Baz, but it feels right. It feels like this was meant to be. Like it was fate, if you believe in that kind of thing. And whether it was or not, this is where I want to be. With him and our cats. Warm and safe and happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! <3


End file.
